Steve Tracy Artist Biography

As a now internationally recognized artist, Steve’s artistic side was spurred on from the time he was a child. Picasso once said, “Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.” Steve finds his motivation in the excitement of visual things, which provides an endless river of lessons. Steve believes, “The discovery of the evolution of art within oneself is easier as we get older and have more experiences to measure from.” The abstract nature of design is now what Steve finds to be most prevalent in his work. The real fun of the journey lies in the deconstruction and reconstruction into abstract form. “Sometimes I feel like a kid again re-discovering the old against a backdrop of newness and nostalgia.”

BIOGRAPHY

Steve Tracy is an internationally acclaimed, Emmy-award-winning artist collected all over the globe. He is most recognized for his Extreme Skiers and Canadian Landscapes and has mastered a wide variety of styles.

After discovering his natural affinity for art with a hand-me-down set of oil paints, Steve began his art at the School of Visual Arts in New York, where he rubbed shoulders with the likes of John Lennon, Yoko Ono, and Andy Warhol in Soho. He went on to graduate from the Colorado Institute of Fine Art, furthering his studies in sculpting, design, drawing, illustration and commercial art. Steve also studied printmaking at California’s Kala Art Institute and was a member of the Denver Art Student League for many years as both a student and an instructor.

Steve Tracy paints a variety of genres but has become particularly well-recognized for his Canadian landscapes and for his sports collections, including his Extreme Skiers. Steve’s versatile body of work is recognizable by its vibrant palette and specialized technique. This sense of colour came from Steve’s experiences living in California and Hawaii. When asked who influenced him, Steve happily recalls training in New York City with Deborah Remington and Lowell Nesbitt. His infamous landscapes are largely inspired by the Canadian Masters such as Jack Chambers and the “Group of Seven.”

Steve spent several years working as a scenic artist and art director in the film production industry, working with notable companies such as MATTE World and IMAX. He won several awards, including an Emmy Award for his scenic artist work on the HBO movie “By Dawn’s Early Light” and Best Art Direction for a TV commercial completed with Tower Records.

Throughout his career, Steve Tracy has had numerous honoured recognitions, including “Best in Show” awards, being published in the New York Times, a long-term placement in the Empire State Building, and a feature as an “Artist to Collect” in the 2014 Fall Harvest edition of Arabella; a top Canadian architectural and design magazine.

Steve’s works have been exhibited in New York City, London, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Florida and in numerous group shows and fine art galleries in the U.S., Canada, Dubai, Hong Kong, and Europe. Steve has been commissioned to create custom art for a long list of corporations, including Atari, Apple, Bank of America, The Canadian Medical Hall of Fame (official portrait artist), Cirque du Soleil, Farhi Holdings Corporation, Kaiser Permanente, The London Hunt and Country Club, MAC World, MATTE World, Microsoft, the New York Friar’s Club, Orchestra London, Pacific Bell, San Francisco’s French Embassy, and more.

Steve has travelled and lived in many places in the United States and Canada and has been dubbed the “Travelling Artist,” as he travels and works with his collector’s and interior designer’s needs. Steve paints from his well-appointed country art studio just north of London, Ontario, Canada, with his business partner and wife, Gert.